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>Yet the author is studying for a degree in Medieval Studies and I've just read a bunch of history books for fun. Often there does seem there must be a more me

>Yet the author is studying for a degree in Medieval Studies and I've just read a bunch of history books for fun. Often there does seem there must be a more meritocratic way to organize the merit of intellectual endeavors than what Feynman said could be "rotten clubs," academia. Surely academia is not the worst model, but with the tech we have today it seems quite medieval (sorry).

jon-wood 8y ago
This is a very real problem, even in academic circles. My wife has a PhD in medieval studies, but because she's pursuing a career outside of academia she has no affiliation with an educational establishment. That means that if she wants to do research she has to get friends still within the system to borrow books on her behalf from university libraries. She's also unlikely to get anything she writes published, and presenting papers at conferences is prohibitively expensive because they're all priced on the basis that everyone is just going to expense their tickets, travel, and accommodation. Academia is very much a club of people who think they're superior to the rest of us because they have a university ID badge, and getting anywhere in that world is essentially a case of waiting for professors to die off. There's a great many good reasons she decided to get out of that world professionally, but it seems a shame to stop talented and passionate people from contributing.
- Mediterraneo10 8y ago
  > She's also unlikely to get anything she writes published. I chose not to remain in academia, but I still publish from time to time and certainly I've never had anything turned down by an editorial board for not being presently employed in academia (and then the article goes on to anonymous peer review). One can put down one’s university alumnus e-mail address in one's contact information, and if institutional affiliation is asked "University of X (alumnus)" is enough – often in the humanities the affiliation is shown in the article to give readers an idea of what tradition the writer comes out of, not necessarily where he/she is presently employed. With regard to your wife not being able to borrow from uni libraries, that is unfortunate, but you shouldn’t disparage academia internationally as an elitist club for that, because there are myriad institutions where borrowing privileges are extended to alumni or even to the general public.
  - mcv 8y ago
    In Amsterdam it's possible for anyone to get an AdamNET [0] card that allows them to borrow from several libraries, including two university libraries, the library of another scientific institute, or the regular public library. [0] http://www.adamnet.nl/ http://www.adamnet.nl/ 15 years ago it included 5 libraries, but that number seems to have exploded since then; several more schools and a bunch of museums are now also listed. The price has gone up, sadly.

jon-wood 8y ago

This is a very real problem, even in academic circles. My wife has a PhD in medieval studies, but because she's pursuing a career outside of academia she has no affiliation with an educational establishment. That means that if she wants to do research she has to get friends still within the system to borrow books on her behalf from university libraries. She's also unlikely to get anything she writes published, and presenting papers at conferences is prohibitively expensive because they're all priced on the basis that everyone is just going to expense their tickets, travel, and accommodation. Academia is very much a club of people who think they're superior to the rest of us because they have a university ID badge, and getting anywhere in that world is essentially a case of waiting for professors to die off. There's a great many good reasons she decided to get out of that world professionally, but it seems a shame to stop talented and passionate people from contributing.

Mediterraneo10 8y ago
> She's also unlikely to get anything she writes published. I chose not to remain in academia, but I still publish from time to time and certainly I've never had anything turned down by an editorial board for not being presently employed in academia (and then the article goes on to anonymous peer review). One can put down one’s university alumnus e-mail address in one's contact information, and if institutional affiliation is asked "University of X (alumnus)" is enough – often in the humanities the affiliation is shown in the article to give readers an idea of what tradition the writer comes out of, not necessarily where he/she is presently employed. With regard to your wife not being able to borrow from uni libraries, that is unfortunate, but you shouldn’t disparage academia internationally as an elitist club for that, because there are myriad institutions where borrowing privileges are extended to alumni or even to the general public.
- mcv 8y ago
  In Amsterdam it's possible for anyone to get an AdamNET [0] card that allows them to borrow from several libraries, including two university libraries, the library of another scientific institute, or the regular public library. [0] http://www.adamnet.nl/ http://www.adamnet.nl/ 15 years ago it included 5 libraries, but that number seems to have exploded since then; several more schools and a bunch of museums are now also listed. The price has gone up, sadly.